Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ists, not quite twice its population. By the 1980s Disney alone was drawing 40 million vis-
itors a year, or four times the state population.
Disney had the Midas touch. In the shadow of the Magic Kingdom, Florida's old-school
attractions - Weeki Wachee, Seminole Village, Busch Gardens; all the places made famous
through billboards and postcards - seemed hokey, small-time. The rules of tourism had
changed forever.
The Florida State Archives website (
www.floridamemory.com
) presents a fascinating col-
lection of historical documents (a 1586 map of St Augustine, Civil War letters), plus oodles
of great photos, both historic and contemporary.
Viva Cuba Libre!
South Florida has often had a more intimate relationship with Cuba than with the rest of
the US. Spain originally ruled Florida from Havana, and in the 20th century so many
Cuban exiles sought refuge in Miami that they dubbed it the 'Exile Capital.' Later, as im-
migration expanded, Miami simply became the 'Capital of Latin America.'
From 1868 to 1902, during Cuba's long struggle for independence from Spain, Cuban
exiles settled in Key West and Tampa, giving birth to Ybor City and its cigar-rolling in-
dustry. After independence, many Cubans returned home, but the economic ties they'd
forged remained. Then, in 1959, Fidel Castro's revolution (plotted partly in Miami hotels)
overthrew the Batista dictatorship. This triggered a several-year exodus of over 600,000
Cubans to Miami, most of them white, wealthy, educated professionals.
In April 1961 Castro declared Cuba a communist nation, setting the future course for
US-Cuban relations. The next day President Kennedy approved the ill-fated Bay of Pigs
invasion, which failed to overthrow Castro, and in October 1962 Kennedy blockaded Cuba
to protest the presence of Russian nuclear missiles. Khrushchev famously 'blinked' and re-
moved the missiles, but not before the US secretly agreed never to invade Cuba again.
None of this sat well with Miami's Cuban exiles, who agitated for the US to free Cuba
(chanting '
Viva Cuba libre':
long live free Cuba). Between 1960 and 1980, a million
Cubans emigrated - 10% of the island's population; by 1980, 60% of Miami was Cuban.
Meanwhile, the US and Cuba wielded immigration policies like cudgels to kneecap each
other.
